Posted on 03/02/2018 12:32:37 PM PST by Hulka
This vanity post describes my fascinating journey towards becoming a semi-cripple for the rest of my life.
A week ago last Saturday I was replacing smoke detector batteries in my home and fell off a ladder
I’ve been to war, flew fighters and was a Texas police officer and I make it through relatively uninjured, but falling off a ladder does me in.
Yup. That simple and that silly.
And all my fault.
There is a long recovery ahead, with full recovery not really possible.
I may need a walker, may need a cane for the rest of my life.
I lost balance and fell off the ladder—ONLY from about three feet up—and destroyed my ankle and the tibia and fibia.
Had compound fracture because upon impact my foot bent and twisted about 90 degree from normal and my tibia and fibia broke at the bottom where they basically link up with the foot. Saw the bones poke out.
Oh by the way, in case you were wondering, it hurt. A lot.
Was a gymnast at university over 40-yrs ago, so I knew how to fall. Apparently I forgot how to land.
I had temporal distortion during the fall and break so I was able to watch in slow-motion my foot twisting and bones poking out of my skin. Other than the pain, I watched the destruction of my body and was fascinated.
Lucky me.
Laying there on the master bedroom floor with my leg up and my foot swinging and dangling was something to behold.
Ambulance came after I called them with mobile phone - I couldn’t move and the Lord placed my mobile phone in my pocket. Usually when I am home I plug in my phone to charge but the Lord made sure this time when I came home the mobile phone stayed in my pocket with me.
Ambulance guys came in my home and I knew them and they knew me because I am in the town’s Citizen Fire Academy and the last class was presented by the ambulance guys, the same guys that responded to my mishap call.
The Citizen Fire Academy is a class of 20 old guys like me where we meet at the main fire station once a week for 2-hrs and learn about fire and ambulance services.
Anyway, while in my home and while en-route hospital the ambulance guys could not find a pulse for my foot and it was turning blue and cold.
When I asked the ambulance guys to take me to my preferred hospItal, the ambulance guys reminded me of what was covered in class: while they try to accommodate the injured guys preferences, there were times when they have to take the injured to a hospital that can provide best care and in my case, my injury was a REAL trauma case so they took me to a real full-up trauma center.
Anyway,, while en-route the ambulance crew warned me that the lack of blood to my foot may result in losing my foot..had blood leaking from my wound and but none of it getting to my foot—vein destroyed upon impact.
Funny: my neighbors, good guys all, were on my lawn watching when I was wheeled out of my home. I had a sheet covering my legs.
Neighbors saw my right foot poking up the sheet but the left foot, laying flat, was not poking up the sheet so they thought I lost my foot (rumors begin).
When another firefighter came out of my home behind me and he was carrying a big bundle of bloody sheets wrapped in roll-up fashion, they then thought I lost my entire leg!
Rumors really started to fly.
Hilarious.
When I was wheeled into the ER there were at least a dozen people waiting to receive me. When I saw all those guys waiting for me I said; “hey, I’m here now so let the party begin!”
After assessment three trauma docs said they were taking me to the operating room for immediate surgery because they needed to try and save my foot.
I said, “if you need to, take the foot, that’s why I have two” and this brought a few chuckles from the trauma team in the emergency room.
I got an audience now, and as we all know, pilots love being the center of attention (especially fighter pilots).
So. . . .I added, “Heck, take the entire leg if you need to, just make sure I get my femur back so I can polish it and make it into a walking stick.” This cracked them up.
The ambulance guys said I earned my official tough guy certificate because I never screamed or cried or groaned painfully and always made a joke and gritted my teeth. I gritted my teeth several times but I did not let the pain win.
Not that I’m that tough but what the heck, I am a traditional man and men are strong for others, sounds cheesy but I laughed at the situation and made jokes, I was being strong for others and yes, for me too.
Traditionally we are strong for others, not just ourselves.
By the way, I was home alone when this happened because my wife was at the dentist, drugged (phobias).
When she came around she started to read the text messages from the neighbors and she’s started to text me, asking what the heck is going on. I did not reply.
I’m not answering her because we are busy getting ready to head to surgery.
As I was being wheeled through pre-op on the way to the operating room, my wife sent me a final text that told me I was going to be in BIG trouble if I didn’t answer her right now!
Hah, I was being wheeled into surgery and didn’t know if I’d have a foot when I woke up and she was fussing at me!
The Docs saved my foot. Great guys! I ended up with an external hardware cage attached to the leg and foot with pins driven through various bones to stabilize the situation.
And fun times were had by all.
Oh, a nerve that runs down the inside of the arch of my foot was cut so I will have no feeling in parts of my foot.
Had second surgery 19 Feb to clean the wound and attach an internal plate.
They cleaned the wound of dead tissue but they were unable to insert a plate due to swelling.
They did attach a drainage tube.
That tube HURT, in case you were wondering.
Had my third surgery in a week last Friday morning, 23 Feb. They opened the wound, cleaned it, inserted a plate and removed the drainage vac from inside the wound.
I had significant pain (agony) after that operation so was held over and released Sunday, 25 Feb.
In about a week I’ll have the next operation where they will open me up again to reconstruct what they can. . .add more internal plates and pins and such and remove the external cage.
I will be TSAs new best friend.
We don’t know how many more operations I will need. Too many unknowns.
Back to the story: Best case, months and months being laid-up, will not get full recovery, will have a limp but will need at least a cane or likely an “old person” walker for balance for the rest of my life. I can beat that progNosis.
My faith is strong so I am under no real stress.
To me, in life you often pray for yourself and that is okay, it it is important to know that if the Lord decides to step in (or appear not to) there is a greater reason because of this one undeniable fact: it is not all about you.
To me it is clear, prayers are not only about you, they are about greater things too, like your friends, family and community.
As I laid on the floor unable to move and in intense pain, I prayed for myself, for the Lords help. I firmly believe that my prayer was answered not just for me, but for my wife and son and also my friends.
In university where I was almost decapitated in an elevator, I was saved from that fate by mere micro seconds because of the hand of the Lord. I knew the Lord stepped in at that time and over time I pondered why He did so.
I figured out: it is not about me.
If I passed in that elevator I never would have met my wife or had a wonderful son, made good friends along the way and been a good friend, and I would not have went into the Air Force.
I’m not that important in the grand scheme of things, but over a lifetime everyone makes tracks.
Pardon the errors in this post - I am still taking some powerful medications for pain so I am heading to take a nap —now.
The Lord is in the driver seat and with prayers sent my way by friends and their prayer groups, I’ll be okay.
This thread affirms the power of the Lord and to remain faithful.
I hope for the best for you.
It’s surprising how fast something like that happens. Good luck in your recovery.
Rule of thumb: If you are over 50, never get up on a ladder to trim trees.
I know so many people that have broken backs, legs, arms hips all from trimming trees on a ladder.
Oops..the quick recovery message was for you.
My cataract surgery next week can’t come soon enough.
I lost my right leg above the knee due to a blood clot...
When people ask, I tell them I had a doctor cut it off so I could park near the doors when I went out....
Happened to a friend of mine as well.
Survived Vietnam, had a career as a mechanic until a car fell on him, survived that. Then was a Federal Prison Guard for years until he retired and fell off a ladder sawing a limb off a tree. Broke some vertebra in his neck and has two steel pins in it but cant turn his head............
I used to race bicycles and was hit, twice, hard, by cars. (Whilst training.)
Both times it was “you’re lucky you’re alive.”
Both times I never broke a bone.
Skied, got shot at in Iraq, barely missed an IED or two...
Never got a scratch.
Then, two years ago, walking down icy steps...
Well, you know the rest.
FREEPERS DON’T DIE
WE JUST GET BANNED FOR SUPPORTING TED CRUZ.
Well there goes my plan to change the outside garage motion detector light before the kids come home from college.
My last trip on a ladder was to the third rung. When I came to in a pool of blood I had a broken wrist, concussion, and lost about pint of blood from a gash over my eye. At 77 I am done with ladders.
Oh, man, I know this for a fact.
It's almost as if the tree expresses a will and slaps your ladder out from under you.
Now I know why the pros used slings and tethers from up in the tree.
Good post. Thank you, sir.
When I was 64 I missed the bottom step coming down the stairs. I suffered a vertical split and detachment of my right Achilles tendon. It took 5 years of limping in excruciating pain, but it did eventually heal and the pain did go away. It stopped hurting 2 years ago. You’d be surprised what you can recover from.
Offering healing prayers.
(I may need a walker, may need a cane for the rest of my life.)
Then again you may not. You will certainly be in therapy. For what may seem the rest of your life.
But with good therapy - you may soon be back to climbing ladders again.
Or not.
Get well soon.
A very similar injury happened to my mother in 1988. Technology was less, and she likely didn’t have the weight fall onto it as you did (Nothing personal, you’re likely a lot larger than my mom.)
She was laid up for 14 months. Literally, 14 months of not getting on 2 legs at the same time. With a lot of therapy she got back on her feet and 4 years later - yes 4 years - she ran for her first 10 feet.
That was many years ago and she’s still getting around just fine. Her femur was simply pulverized. Getting that mess back together was really, really tough for her. But she has no cane, no walker and no wheelchair. Total recovery was a 6 year thing.
She had 14 breaks in the one leg. She didn’t lose the blood flow and it’s not the -exact- same but without hope, endless amounts of effort and patience and never giving up - you will never recover.
You will need to maintain that sort of attitude forever. Without failure. A day’s break in the recovery takes a week to come back from. Diet will mean a lot too because your body now needs to convert food into physical bone fragments and the like.
This is why I disabled all of my smoke detectors. They are no longer dangerous. :)
I’m 64. I feel great, but I understand that all my bones have morphed into fine and delicate porcelain.
And all that that implies.
I wish you the best possible recovery.
FWIW my younger brother, HS wrestler, college football, had a kneecap removed years ago from an auto accident. It was called his bad leg.
A few years ago, while riding 4 wheel ATV, he ran over his good leg, snapping tibia and fibula. He had surgery with rods.
Doctors told him that he would likely wind up with a limp. He went through painful physical therapy, and walks without a limp.
His advice to me when I later had a very serious shoulder fracture: Do the therapy, no matter how painful.
Again wishing you the best possible recovery.
Well, for a full recovery at least. ;^)
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